Wow, Venus at midnight, must have been at the horizon at the highest. I can't imagine Venus being up at midnight.
You can see Venus in daylight, if you know its position.
My point—in the absence of the moon (and aside from Venus) no other celestial bodies can be seen. It's due to the intensity of streetlights causing the night's cloud-smog to glow overhead—obscuring everything except the brightest elements in the sky.